Keyboard



(No Model.)

S. W. BEVILL.

KEYBOARD.

No. 583,449. Patented June 1,1897.

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UNrTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL \V. BEVILL, OF NEIV ALBANY, MISSISSIPPI.

KEYBOARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 583,449, dated June 1,1897.

Application filed April 80. 1896. Serial No. 589,722. (No model.)

To aZZ whowt it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL \V. BEVILL, a citizen of the United States,residing at New Albany, in the county of Union and State of Mississippi,have invented a new and useful Keyboard, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to an adjustable or t-ransposing keyboard formusical instruments, such as the piano and organ; and the objects andadvantages thereof will appear in the following description, and thenovel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appendedclaims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section of a portion of anorgan-action constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is aperspective view of the reed-box, movable keyboard frame, and contiguousparts, showing the indicator whereby the performer is enabled to adjustthe keyboard to the desired pitch. Fig. 3 is a detail view inperspective of one of the end blocks.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all thefigures of the d rawings.

1 designates a reedbox, which may be of the ordinary or any preferredconstruction, arranged within a frame2 of the instrument, and mountedfor movement parallel with said reed-box is a sliding keyboard-framehaving front and rear longitudinal bars 3 and & c011- nected terminallyby end bars 5 and provided with bearing -rollers 6, which traverse theupper edges of front and rear guiding-walls formed by the reed box. Thekeys are mounted upon the usual pins Tand 8, rising, respectively, fromthe front and rear longitudinal bars 8 and 4 of the sliding frame, therear ends of the keys being arranged between upper and lower coiledsprings 9 and 10, the former bearing at their upper ends against aholding-bar 11, while the latter rest upon the upper surface of the rearbar 4:. The fulcrum of each key is at its rear end where it engages thepin 8, and the upper and lower springs are designed to hold the rear endof the key in an intermediate position without preventing sufficientyielding thereof to insure the proper operation of the sound-producingdevices without straining the parts. I have found that the double springat the rear end of each key is desirable in connection particularly witha keyboard adapted to be shifted for the purpose of transposing, asherein described. The front springs on the pin 7 are designed to returnthe key to its normal or elevated position after depression. Ahorizontal coveringbar 12 is arranged above the plane of the keys and isconnected at its rear edge to the front edge of the holdingbar by meansof a front bar 13.

Any suitable means for securing the keyboard-frame, including the bars11, 1;, and 13, at the desired longitudinal adjustment may be employed,that illustrated in the drawings, however, consisting of a lockingpin14:, supported by means of a spring-arm 15 from the side of thestationary frame or casing 3 and adapted to engage one of a series ofperforations 16 in the covering-bar 12.

The keys are arranged, respectively, over operating-pins 17 of theordinary construction arranged in the reed-box, and are normally heldsufficiently above the extremities of said pins to be out of contacttherewith, whereby when the keys are in their normal positions the framemay be freely moved from one position to another. The keyboard is ofless length than the interval between the side walls of the frame oreasing of the instrument to allow a longitudinal adj ustment equal to anoctave, and the spaces between the extremities of said keyboard and saidside walls are closed to exclude dust by means of blocks 18.

In the construction illustrated the front and rear longitudinal bars 3and a of the keyboard-frame are provided with racks 10 and 20, arrangedin contact with the front and rear walls of the reed-box and engaged bypinions 2i and 22, carried by a shaft 23. This shaft is provided at itsfront end, contiguous to the front board 2i of the instrument, with a thumbnut or similar handle 25, and at its rear end it is geared to anindicating device consisting of a pointer 26, traversing a scale 27,bearing characters indicating different scales, as shown. In order thatthe pointer may move in the same direction as the keyboard inadjustment, I preferably interposc a gear 28 between the pinion 29 onthe rear end of the shaft 23 and the segment 30, which carries thepointer, said segment being made of greater diameter than the pinion,whereby it operates through a comparatively small are.

From the above description it will be seen that when it is desired totranspose a composition from one key to another to suit a voice oranother instrument, the keyboard may be shifted by turning the thumb-nutto produce the desired pitch, said composition being played as written.For instance, if a composition is written in the key of C and it isdesired to transpose it to a pitch corresponding with the key of F, thekeyboard may be shifted to bring the 0 key of the keyboard intooperative relation with the reed or other sound-producing device, whichis tuned to produce the sound of F. Thus the entire scale will beelevated in pitch a distance equal to the fourth of a major scale, andwhile the performer is manipulating the keyboard as though playing inthe key of O the performance will be actually in the key of F. Thus allof the various scales now in use may be reduced to the scale of C, andall compositions may be written in the key of 0, although they may beperformed at any desired pitch. Furthermore, it is my object to providethe keys with distinguishable colors, one for each key in the scale,those keys which are adapted to cause the operation of concordantsound-producing devices having relative colors, whereby a personunacquainted with the art of music will be enabled to playaccompaniments embracing the chords ordinarily employed for thatpurpose.

It will be understood that the applicability of my invention is notlimited to any special construction of instrument, inasmuch as it may beused in connection with either organs or pianos or similar keyedinstruments, and that various changes in the form, proportion, and theminor details of construction may be resorted to without departing fromthe spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. A keyed instrumenthaving a keyboardframe provided near its rear side with parallel upperand lower bars, sound-producing devices including keys arranged at theirrear ends between said bars, upon guide-pins disposed perpendicularlytherebetween, and upper and lower springs disposed between each key andsaid bars respectively, substantially as specified.

2. A keyed instrument having sound-producing devices, a keyboard-framehaving front and rear bars provided with bearingrolls, keys mounted attheir front and rear extremities upon guide-pins carried by said frontand rear bars, means for shifting the frame to bring the keys intooperative relation with different sound-producing devices, a holding-bararranged above and parallel with the plane of the rear bar of the frame,and springs interposed between the rear end of each key and said holdingand rear bars, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

SAMUEL \V. BEVI'LL.

\Vitnesses:

II. MARSHALL, Z. T. Bnrnons.

